Bloodlust
by Moonraker One
Summary: Their friendship didn't end when, at nine years old, Keiko Yukimura found out her friend Yusuke was born a demon. It didn't end when at eleven, he became fully demon. Can it survive his involvement with spirit world?
1. My mother is NOT a whore!

Bloodlust

By Moonraker One

NOTE: This chapter was meant to be a short teaser, merely uploaded to see the reviewer response to it. If I get enough reviews, this will be continued.

PREFACE - Keiko's experience

I've known him my entire life. Well, I guess that's not saying very much since I'm only fourteen, but he's the same age as me, so I guess it makes it even. People say he's evil…I don't believe them. He is a real jerk sometimes and others a complete pervert, but deep within, I can see a glimmer of good. That's the yin and yang thing, right? That everyone has some good inside them? I mean, that one time they almost convicted him of murder, he was found innocent, and all the charges were dropped, so that means he didn't do it. I hate all these assholes who judge him just because of what he is and how he goes about his life, but can you really blame someone for what type of blood they have or what their spirit consists of? Can you really blame Yusuke Urameshi just because he's a demon? I mean, he was born that way; it's not like he had a choice. And sure, he beats up a lot of thugs both his age and Yakuza, but he always treats his victims with respect and he never kills unless they deserve it, so can you blame him?

People say he's a bad influence on me, but I say they just don't know him. Some people say I'm in love with him, or that I'm attracted to his wild demonic spirit, but they're all idiotic teens. He doesn't exactly strike me as the type that I'd want to sit down and have tea with, but he's not the evil monster that he's made out to be. Maybe you could just say that we're so different we're alike. I mean, for a stupid teenage boy, he's really clever and he always gets A's in all his classes, probably because he uses his demon powers to read the teachers' minds or something like that. So, no one ever judges him by his intellect, 'cause I've seen him in street fights and you'd be amazed at how fast he can calculate his enemy's next move.

I've talked to his mother, but she doesn't have a whole lot of things to say about him. She gave up drinking a few years ago, and people still judge her by the way she struggles to avoid the bottle, even today. People judge her because she's only twenty-nine, which means that she got pregnant and gave birth at age fifteen. I don't judge her for that…I mean, who's perfect in this world? What makes them so much better because they waited longer to have children? What makes them so much better because they made a few less bad decisions and had a little brighter future? Atsuko doesn't seem like she's doing so bad. I mean, she lives in a good apartment because her son provides money for them to live like middle-class people, even if his methods of obtaining that money are questionable.

I guess you could say that for a demon, he's a really nice guy, even if he is an asshole on occasion.

CHAPTER ONE - "My mother is NOT a whore!"

A gunshot rang out for hundreds of yards surrounding the dark alley in which the shot originated. Many dozens of pedestrians who'd heard stopped what they were doing, and as human nature drove them to, they ran for fear of their lives. Only a select few were brave or stupid enough to look down the alley at the two figures standing opposite each other. What they saw was surprising; the taller, older-looking figure, had drawn his pistol in desperation and fired off a single shot. The shorter figure, the one who looked like he was no older than fourteen, did not flinch; he took the shot head on and it had no effect on him. Once the bullet connected with his chest, it crumpled like a biscuit, falling to the ground with a klank, and the skin that it had impacted seemed unaffected, not even a bruise. The shorter figure then approached the taller one closely, taking him by the collar of his coat and lifting him a foot off the ground with one hand.

"I'm not convinced that you heard properly," the kid said. "My mother is NOT a whore!" The older figure, the man with brown hair, trembled with fear.

"I…I…I'm s…sor…sorry, Yusuke!" he pleaded for his life. "I never said…said she was!"

"DON'T LIE TO ME, BASTARD!" Yusuke shouted. "You slapped her on the cheek, and that's enough for me." He threw the man to the ground with one simple motion, and extending his other hand's index finger and thumb like a pistol, fired a beam of aura straight through the man's shoulder. The man screeched and fell to the ground, panting. "I'll let you live," Yusuke warned, stepping on the man's stomach as he walked past him. "But if you EVER come near my mother again, you're dead!"

A young woman, watching the entire scenario go down from a safe point on the other side of the street, began to follow Yusuke on foot, holding an oar in her right hand, and a powder make up kit in her other. The palm-size make up kit actually served as a communications device, and the mirror on it began to flicker until the picture of her boss came in clear. "I'm following him, just as you ordered, lord Koenma," she said into it. Her boss, a toddler-looking young man who served as the judge of the dead when his father wasn't around, Koenma had sent her in to monitor the young demon after his last watcher decided to quit. "I have good news: he shot the man through the shoulder, so it wasn't a killing blast."

That appeared to be good news at first, but Konema had a secondary concern. "But," he argued, "this one _STILL_ wasn't strong enough to oppose Urameshi? This is the third undercover operative we've sent in to get information on this demon! How powerful is he?"

"Sir," she countered, "we've tried seven different aura viruses on Yusuke Urameshi, and none of them have had any effect on his power! He's still an upper S….oof!" She hadn't been watching where she was going, so she looked up to see what she'd ran into. When she saw a pair of slightly peeved eyes and a menacing grin staring back at her, she began to quiver mildly.

"Hello, any chance you're talkin' about me?" Yusuke took her by the neck, and grabbed the make-up case with his other hand. He smiled into the screen. "Why, if it isn't my good old friend Koenma, judge of the dead! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT WITH ME!"

Koenma did not seem deterred or intimidated. "Yusuke, you are ranked as a demon with upper S level power, just a hair below super S. We have to make sure you don't kill anyone."

"You obviously misunderstand," he answered without hesitation. "I kill whomever I please; it just so happens that I haven't met anyone that pissed me off that much, although several have come JUST THIS close." He turned to the girl with light blue hair he held by her neck. "Botan, isn't it? Even if he sends you to track me down, you'd best leave me alone!"

"Yusuke," Koenma heatedly shouted, "if you harm one hair on her head, you're banished to hell forever!"

"Sounds like fun," he quipped, ending the conversation by crushing the makeup kit in his hand. He released the frightened guide to the spirit world. "Go back home and quit following me."

"I…ha…have…to know…" she stammered, visibly shaken by her confrontation with him.

"For your information," he told her, "I'm on my way to meet some friends of mine."

"G'bye!" she uttered, and hastily hopped aboard her oar and flew away towards spirit world.

"Damned spirit guides," he uttered silently as he continued walking. "Eighth one this week sent to watch me." He continued his calm walking pace, completely and safely ignorant of everyone passing by, not paying attention to anyone. A small tension in the air built up as he passed a dark alleyway. He'd been suppressing his power in his normal, human looking form, with his short, slicked back hair. He'd only used his demon form once, and that was when walking through a forest packed with lesser demons. His visibly demonic form was unmistakable; his hair hung to his ankles, and was wider than his body. He had several large natural tattoos on his chest and arms, and his power raged to its fullest. In his human-looking form, he could only go to upper B. But as he passed the alleyway, with his power suppressed to C-level, a pair of energy signatures came to his visible area.

"You sure this's the one?" a shorter figure announced to the taller of the duo. As they came out of the shadows, the one with the reddish hair regarded Yusuke with a slightly apprehensive demeanor. He seemed to know something.

"Yeah," he said. "This's Yusuke Urameshi."


	2. Yeah? Whaddya want?

Bloodlust

by Moonraker One

CHAPTER TWO - "Yeah? Whaddya want?"

Yusuke regarded the two mysterious people—he could sense their demonic energy, so he knew they weren't human—with somewhat an apprehensive demeanor. The shorter one had a visible thirst for action in his eyes, while the taller, redheaded figure looked like he had ulterior motives. He could sense that, even though they were terribly suppressing their powers, he still could power up quite a bit higher than them. However, being far more skilled at keeping his true ability under wraps, they couldn't tell that he was above an S class just by sensing him; all they had was spoken word about him to go on. He had been somewhat unaware of his reputation as possibly the most powerful demon not living in Makai, but he understood that many people who crossed him and lived had to have said something. It was with a cautious mind that he looked to the two for their motives.

"My name's Yusuke Urameshi," he admitted. "Did I cross you somewhere? Because a subordinate of a rich piece of crap named Sakyo crossed me; now he's a vegetable and his boss does his best to hide from me."

"No, not at all, Yusuke," the shorter one stated. "I just wanted to give you an offer, that's all."

"Oh yeah?" Yusuke's ears heard something they wanted to hear. "Well, whaddya want from me?" The shorter, dark-haired demon reached inside his coat and pulled out a multi-colored orb, and tossed it forward. Yusuke took hold of the orb, and stared at various sides of it but could not make out what it was. He could see, though, that it was part of a series of artifacts that had obviously been stolen. The red-haired demon had a mirror in his pocket, and the shorter one had a sword, so it confused him that they would try to impress him with an orb. "What exactly the hell is this? And who are you guys!"

"My name is Hiei, and my partner in crime over here," he pointed to the taller redhead, "is Kurama." Yusuke raised his right eyebrow in confusion; he'd heard that name somewhere before. When it finally clicked inside his mind, he smiled; he was in the presence of greatness.

"So, you're the thousand-year old bandit, Yoko Kurama." Yusuke glanced at the mirror in his pocket. One thing that almost always took people by surprise was his mind reading powers; he could know all of what you were thinking just by glancing at you. "So, your goal is to use that mirror of darkness for its intended purpose? Cool. So why, Hiei," he turned his attention to the shorter of the duo, "why're you giving me this soul-sucking Rapacious Orb? I ain't a soul eater."

Hiei seemed slightly frustrated. "You're _not_? Damn. I'd heard you were." He thought of a quick recovery. "Well, it's a spirit world artifact, surely you can get some money for it from a museum or the like. Maybe you can find some other purpose for it. But consider it a gift as part of our new friendship."

Yusuke interrupted him; he'd experienced this sort of thing before with normal, human gang members. "Now wait a minute, Hiei, I may have been born in the dark, but it wasn't last night. I don't sign up for shit. You have to make it worth my while."

Hiei gritted his teeth inside his closed mouth; not another stubborn, self-confident pawn. He'd had to deal with far too many of these in the past. "Trust me, Mr. Urameshi, if you stick with us, I'll make it worth your while. As ringleader, I will lead us to some of the greatest treasures this world can offer, and we can make quite a bit of nastiness in this world." He saw Yusuke roll his eyes, and he began to get angry; the last thing he wanted to do was have to get physical when he just cleaned and repaired his clothing. "I'm sorry, is something boring to you?"

Yusuke shook his head with a laughing smile on his face. "Look, Hiei, Kurama, I get this from demons all the time. You all think you know a lot about me thanks to the 'stories' that circulate through demonkind. I was born with the power of an upper level S, and don't ever forget it."

Hiei actually began to laugh out loud, believing that in front of him was a complete moron. Kurama could tell that Yusuke had far more power than Hiei gave him credit for, but did not believe that the demon in front of him was capable of generating S level power. "Sorry about that," Hiei managed, in between bouts of laughter. "S level power? You must be insane, my friend." By the time he had finally managed to curb his laughing, Yusuke's assertive demeanor did not change.

"Come with me," Yusuke said, grabbing the hands of both demons. Using a technique he mastered a year prior during his meditation, the three were immediately teleported exactly three miles out of the city, into a thick forested area. The demons looked around; neither Hiei nor Kurama had seen a demon that could teleport more than a hundred feet. Nevertheless, they had been taken to the middle of nowhere for a reason; Yusuke obviously didn't want anyone to see his power. "Three miles is the most I can teleport. But that's not what I brought you here to show you. You obviously don't know how powerful I really am. Let me show you." As he clenched his fists tightly at his side, Hiei stood with arms folded, while Kurama began to sweat, as he had far more experience than Hiei when it came to measuring powers. The very ground beneath them began to quiver ever so mildly as Yusuke got into a power-up state of mind. At first, the power trickled mildly to the surface, but a second later, he let a sharp screech and everything for a hundred yards began to rattle like an earthquake. The two demons actually had to leap backwards to avoid getting struck by bolts randomly leaping off of the frame of the demon in their presence. Once the storm of power coming from Yusuke died down, and his power had considerably risen, they felt the electrical tension in the air typical of a lower B class demon being nearby. Neither could believe that their hopefully soon-to-be ally could generate lower B level power _without_ even transforming into his fully demonic state. In fact, he hadn't even gone as high as he could go in his _human-looking_ state. "So, are you two still interested in making an alliance with me?" Now that he had made it perfectly clear exactly how much stronger than them he was, he waited for the predictable answer of "no." Even still, the orb in his possession could potentially be worth some money.

Hiei didn't quite initially know what to say, but he knew that of all the opportunities he'd had come and go, this was quite possibly the best. He knew that the spirit world's Spiritual Defense Force could only handle up to B class demons, and the S class Urameshi in his presence could very well be the most powerful pawn he'd ever had. It would just take a lot of effort to get him under his thumb. "W...wow..." he stammered. "You're truly...as powerful as you claim to be...you would make a wonderful addition to our little group." To this Yusuke grinned.

"I knew you'd be impressed by my power," he said, sealing the deal with a phrase. "Now, the reason that I brought you to this wooded area is because a friend of mine is training here and I wanted you to meet him." Yusuke looked around, attempting to search out the aura of his friend. When he couldn't initially, he smiled; surely, the lessons on power suppression that he was giving his friend would come in handy. So, he resorted to using conventional methods. "Lando," he cried out, attempting to see if anything changed in the aura patterns detectable. Nothing happened after a few seconds, so he tried again. "LANDO! WHERE are you!" A figure began to lurk out of the shadows created by several trees nearby. Sensing this a few moments after Yusuke, he whipped his blade out, holding it to the neck of the approaching figure, who stopped in his tracks.

"Whoa, easy there!" the figure said. "I'm not gonna hurt you unless you hurt me!" The man had a face that seemed like it belonged on a doll more than a person. He had a rather spherical head with a small nose that looked like a bulb, and a black, dull-looking head covering that had the appearance of a bowl more than a hat.

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Lando, what's with the disguise? I mean, that's pitiful."

"Hey!" Lando argued back. "Let's see you come up with a good human disguise!"

"I HAVE a human disguise. And it's one that looks halfway decent. You look like Pinocchio."

Hiei looked in absolute befuddlement at Yusuke, and resheathed his blade. "THIS guy is supposed to be a powerful demon!" he scoffed, pointing at Lando. He could scarcely sense any aura emissions emanating from him, and since he didn't know that Yusuke had taught him a thing about suppression of power, he had no reason to believe that Lando had any power at all. "He looks like a plastic mannequin!"

Yusuke shook his head. "Lando, please just ditch the human disguise."

Lando gave him to the request of his friend. "Fine," he uttered. After a moment's effort, the human disguise was lifted, revealing his true self. Suddenly, Hiei felt the true power emanations of the demon in front of him, and realized quickly why Yusuke held him in such high regard. His physical appearance—the blood-red hair, the blue symbol on his face almost looking like a spider, the liquid paper white skin and large scar-like tattoos on his chest and arms—only added to the effect that was his power. While he had nowhere near the power buried within him that Yusuke had, he easily was a half a class higher than both Hiei and Kurama.

Kurama, who had been out of the conversation the entire time, suddenly had a recollection hit him. "Waitaminute, 'Lando?' Are you related to...?" He was certain he'd heard that name before.

Lando cut him off. "My twin brother Rando is dead," he explained. "Koenma..." He had wanted to finish, but Yusuke stopped him with a mild slap to the back of the head as a reminder. "Oops, I'm sorry. We don't discuss that." He gave a sympathetic look at Yusuke, who glared at him like he had just committed blasphemy. He could tell that Hiei and Kurama both had the question of exactly how knowledgeable he was in terms of fighting techniques. In order to prove his point, he aimed his finger at a tree and blew it apart with a release of youki. "In case any of you were wondering, I learned all ninety-nine of my brother's techniques before he died."

"So, what's the first order of business?" Yusuke asked, wondering what Hiei had in mind for newly-formed group. He would not agree to do any physical harm to anyone, because he was not the type of demon that considered human life to be expendable; neither was Lando, ever since the way his brother died. Yet, he could tell that Kurama had an ulterior motive in mind, an alternate purpose for the mirror he was carrying. He knew, by means of mind-reading, that Kurama had a mother—not a biological mother, just the human mother that bore him while he was on the run from spirit detectives—that had been in declining health for a while now. Perhaps there was hope for him after all.

"I don't know about you," Hiei admitted, "but your friend Lando here is a upper C class demon with a lot of really useful techniques. I'd like to see if I can learn something from him."

"Me too," Kurama quickly added. He knew that there were some spells and curses that Lando had that would come in particularly handy if problems arose in battle. A confusing thought was that he did not understand how a human world demon like Yusuke could come to know a demon that had been as well versed in techniques as Lando. Then again, he knew that anyone whose reputation sets them at upper S class level—and it isn't a lie—gets a lot of attention very quickly.

"Suit yourself," Yusuke uttered, walking away slowly. As he pressed himself back into his D class level of power, he examined the Rapacious Orb in his hands. The multi-colored spiritual orb obviously was the genuine article, and it possessed a good deal of its true power. It could indeed suck a soul out of a being, and as such it had to be handled very carefully. A second thought, one of what he would do with it, came as an afterthought. He could potentially find a number of museums that specialize in demonic artifacts, and they would possibly be willing to part with several hundred or thousand dollars for the real Rapacious Orb, but he shook off that idea due to the fact that a single person could be deadly with possession of it. As much as it sucked, he knew his only safe option was to do the right thing and give it back to Koenma. Walking the road back to the main part of the city, he felt a presence come up near him.

"Yusuke Urameshi," Botan said, building up courage, "you are in deep trouble! You are aiding demons who've stolen from lord Koenma!" Yusuke turned around, and saw the two demons near her, and couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"You're quite brave when you've got Hideki and Zakatu Toguro protecting you," he said. He then turned his attention to the Toguro Brothers. "You know something, guys? You have a lot of nerve showing yourself around here, traitors!"

Hideki, the younger, larger of the Toguro's, raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Traitors? Don't you protect humans?" he asked.

"Demons siding with humans doesn't make one a traitor. Demons serving lord Ko-enema against fellow demons, that makes you a traitor!"

"If you will not give up the Rapacious Orb willingly, we will have to take it by force. We are, after all, spirit detectives assigned to take you down." Both Toguro brothers stepped forward so as to keep Botan out of harm's way, and powered up to a decent level of strength. Younger Toguro's muscle mass increase caused his shirt to shred into a thousand pieces. Botan already had backed off quite a bit from the power emissions, but decided to go farther. Hideki's older brother Zakatu did not have as much power, but what he did have, he utilized completely.

"'B' class. What fun," Yusuke joked. With a single surge of power from within, he brought out his demonic form. A dark mist surrounded him as his hair lengthened to ankle length, his tattoos and markings appeared, and his power was the bottom of the A class barrel. Even so, he far outclassed both Toguro brothers. "Are we gonna fight or what?"

Zakatu, the small older brother was up first. He threw a fist directly at Yusuke's face. It was a huge mistake, but he had no knowledge of just how skilled and powerful his foe really was. "Tell me, Zakatu, what makes you work for Koenma? I thought you were the bloodthirsty muderer type," Yusuke asked. Zakatu pulled back his fist and launched a kick at the side of his opponent's head, which was blocked by Yusuke's left forearm. At the same moment, he threw his right arm into the older Toguro brother's stomach, causing him to bend over, clutching his stomach in pain. Then, without hesitation, he slammed a left handed uppercut into the chin of Zakatu Toguro, launching him through the air to land face down behind his younger brother. "One down."

"Koenma promised us that if we take care of you, we can kill as many demons as we want free of hassle," Hideki Toguro explained. Younger Toguro lasted an even shorter time than his brother did, despite his advantage in power. When he went for a headbutt, Yusuke kicked him in his left knee, breaking his joint in three places. Hideki let out a sharp screech of pain as he fell to one knee. His scream was cut short by a kick to his right cheek that spun his head ninety degrees to the left, snapping his neck instantly. Botan was floating atop her oar, quivering in fear.

"Don't worry, they'll recover in about nine days," Yusuke reassured her as he returned to his human looking form. "Tell your boss two things. One, he'll be getting the Rapacious Orb back tomorrow, and two, if he fucks with my friends or family ever again, I'll be coming for him. Got that?"

"Y...yes...sir...Mr. Urameshi," she wavered, then quickly shot out of sight.

He picked up his orb and walked back towards the city.

* * *

Keiko sat on the park bench, eagerly awaiting Yusuke's return. He'd been at her parents' restaurant in the morning, and promised he would come back to the park at the day's end to give her the latest information about the goings on in demon world. She'd waited a whole hour past what he said, and began to wonder if he was going to show up at all. She stood up, and was just prepared to leave when she saw him approaching. She couldn't identify the sphere he was holding, however. "Yusuke! You're late!" she said. He cringed; the last thing he liked was when she got cranky.

"I'm sorry, I got a little busy dealing with some assholes," he explained.

"You will NOT believe the day I've had," she practically shouted. She smiled, though, and her anger dissipated. "But let's not get into that, just tell me what's going on this time." He put his arm around her.

"Keiko," he explained, "I've got some new allies; by that I mean Hiei and Kurama have sided with me now."

"Wait just a second," she had problems remembering all the demons he talked about, "Hiei is the fox demon?"

"No, um, Hiei is short with black hair and a Jagan eye. _Kurama_ is the fox demon."

"_Oh_. What do they want with you?"

He shook his head. "I dunno. But they've got some powerful demon artifacts, maybe there's money to be gained."

She stopped him by putting her hands on his shoulders. "Yusuke, I'm tired. I'm tired of never understanding what your world is like. I'm tired of having you to explain demon stuff to me, and I'm certainly tired of worrying about you and being a weakling, unable to go alongside you on these adventures. I love you too much."

"What're you saying, and what am I supposed to do about it!"

She cleared her throat. "I want to become a demon."

He stared at her with widened eyes. After a moment of deliberation, he replied, "You can't fucking be serious."


	3. I hope you've thought this through

Bloodlust

by Moonraker One

Author's Note: The demonification scene is probably not for the kiddies. No sexual activity will occur, but I will admit there is nudity. If you can't stomach it don't read it.

CHAPTER THREE - "I hope you've thought it over."

The dim, morning light entered Yusuke's eyes, causing him to look up; the brilliant array of colors that only showed themselves during the earliest morning hours reminded him of Keiko's aura. The girl had a unique aura signature, even for a normal human. The afternoon before, she'd told him that she'd wanted to become a demon, although he considered it to be a hasty move, a jump of the gun, and she hadn't seriously considered her own words. He detected a noticeable flare-up of her aura the moment she asked if he could find a way to turn her into a demon. Despite the fact that he couldn't believe her words, she was serious. He felt in her aura that she actually wanted to become demonic. Walking the edges of the park in the wee hours of the morning reminded him of an incident where he discovered a series of demons attempting to kill several human women. He'd been thinking of Keiko then as well, when he found that they were working for his father Raizen, a demon king whom he'd never met. Yusuke swore one day to meet his father, and if possible, punish him for never being there for Atsuko. He never slept; he never got tired.

_Why, Keiko?_ he wondered. _Why now do you have to join my world? Demons are not friendly, you should know_. He walked past a bush, and instinctively threw his right fist up to grab the neck of a figure he felt, who just barely managed to be caught. Turning his head revealed that it was Hiei. He let go.

"So, you can't sleep either, Urameshi?" the fire demon asked, nonchalantly removing his hand from the handle of his blade.

Yusuke shook the night out of his eyes. "My friend, Keiko's...she told me something a little disturbing. She wants to become one of us."

Hiei didn't agree. "No, I can't have a normal human woman as part of this group, even if it is your decision. She'd just bog us down."

"But that's the issue," Yusuke interrupted. "She wants to become demonic. I mean, full-blooded demon; the whole works."

"Not a problem; Kurama and I both know the spell involved. And it requires that Rapacious Orb I gave you."

"No, you don't understand. It's _NOT_ that simple. I mean, I've never seen a person after they've become demonic. She won't be the same. There'll be no way she'll be able to look at the world the same way ever again. Plus, she may not survive the spell."

"Don't be stupid," Hiei fired back. "I see that the girl has some spiritual fortitude within her. She'll become a demon without it killing her. She'll be about eight-tenths of Lando's power, I estimate."

"You're totally missing the ultimate point, Hiei," he could not believe that the fire demon could think only of the objective aspects of her demonification. Yusuke did not want to see her writhing in pain as he knew she would do, due to the pain he knew the spell would cause. "She's just a mortal girl, how can I subject her to such terror as the pain that one experiences due to demonification? She may permanently be scarred on a psychological level!" Before he could finish the last part of his sentence, he whipped his left hand's fingers into a pistol formation and pointed the index finger at a shadowy target, faster than Hiei could possibly see him move. A moment before he would have fired, he recognized the aura signature as belonging to Kurama. "Oh, geez, it's you. I almost blew a hole through you. Quit sneaking up on me."

"Sorry about the intrusion," the red-haired fox demon said. "It's just that I heard you were planning to give your artifact back to Koenma after you were finished with it. I wanted to do the same thing with the mirror of darkness after I used it. That and, if you really want to go through with this, you're going to need three people."

Hiei finished the explanation. "You can be the activator, the person that has to initiate the change, and provide the demon blood which will serve as the basis for her newfound body."

"I thought that if we mix samples of our demon bloods together we can provide a much more efficient transformation," Kurama interrupted. Hiei shot him a glance of, "quit interrupting me," and continued with his explanation.

"Kurama and myself will be the energy providers providing the soul energy requirement to catalyze the spiritual change. Now, we need to go get Keiko and explain to her what she needs to do in all of this."

Yusuke was stunned. "Right _now_! It's five o'clock in the morning on a saturday! Don't you think she's got her day planned?"

Hiei fired off a grin, and replied, "Well, let's just say she's about to get a schedule change."

* * *

Keiko Yukimura had a tendency to sleep in on saturdays, so it came as a surprise to her when she rolled over in bed and came in contact with a pair of feet. A series of events occurred all at once; first, her eyes snapped open like shutters in a hurricane, immediately followed by her vocal chords attempting to make her scream, which was abruptly halted by a hand latching over her mouth. Unfortunately, she had no time to see who the mysterious stranger was, so she bit down hard on the hand covering her mouth, which caused the figure to let go and let out a mild groan of pain—obviously this person had a high pain tolerance—right before tumbling off her bed and crashing to the ground. She leaned over her bedside and grabbed a baseball bat she happened to have under her bed in case strangers ever broke in, and leaned over the opposing side of the bed to bash the head of the intruder in, when she noticed that it belonged to a familiar individual. "Yusuke!" she screeched in a whisper. "What the hell are you doing on my floor?" 

"Obviously waiting for the _BITE MARKS_ on my hand to heal!" he replied in a similar tone. "Geez! If I wasn't a demon, that really would've hurt!"

"No, what I meant was what're you doing in my room! How'd you get in without my parents noticing?"

"I can _teleport_, remember?" He shook his head. "Regardless of how I got here, I'm here to tell you that I accepted your offer, grudgingly, anyway." He'd hoped to continue, but she interrupted him.

"So, you're going to turn me into a demon?"

He rolled his eyes. "Actually, me and two friends of mine are going to, as this requires three people. Let me warn you: during the transformation, you're going to be experiencing some of the worst nightmares you've ever had. In fact, to prevent you from causing bodily harm to yourself, we're gonna have to tie you to a rock. This process will probably take all afternoon; you okay with that?"

She nodded; it took him by surprise how brave (or possibly foolish) she was. He knew that she couldn't possibly understand the horrors that awaited her during the transformation process. As such, he mentally constructed a list of things that would be required besides the already needed items, and could think of only two important ones. "Meet me in the park, later on today, with some dark blue candles and some incense. Color of candles is important, so I'm gonna need dark blue."

As soon as he thought she knew what she had to do, he disappeared into thin air, teleporting out into the forest, where his friends would be waiting to aid him in the ritual that would take place.

* * *

Hiei paced back and forth, a grim snarl-like look on his face. He could simply not believe that he'd agreed so readily to do something that may put him on even worse terms with Koenma. Then again, since when did he give a rat's ass about what he felt towards Ko-enema? "Kurama, have you ever done this before?" His youko ally had done such a ritual several times before, and each time the results had been mixed. Sometimes the recipient of the transformation would be the same, others they'd be driven insane. He didn't, however, want Yusuke to know. 

"Yeah," he replied, bringing to mind some of the more colorful results. "I've done this before." Right before the conversation could continue, the third member of the group appeared; Yusuke had arrived, with the rapacious orb in hand. They had questions, and he had answers, but what they wondered was whether or not those answers were the ones they wanted.

"Did she agree?" Hiei had primarily in mind. "Did she agree, even after you told her the problems she'd face?" A nod signified his answer as being correct. The short fire demon had never heard of a human female who had the guts that this Keiko chick had. To him, it seemed like complete foolishness that she would so willingly surrender her human side to join the ranks of the demons, just for the purpose of understanding them. Such he likened to shooting oneself in the head to see if they were immune or not to bullets.

"So, did you make sure to tell her to bring the candles and incense?" such was Kurama's mentality; he seldom would ask, in such a situation, the questions regarding how the individual would handle it, merely if they had what was necessary. In any case, he knew his part had to be played perfectly as well as Hiei's or else the entire ritual would go horribly wrong and potential lives would be lost.

* * *

Keiko sat up in her seat, gathering her courage before she dipped her fork into her plate of eggs and bacon, with her usual side of pancakes on the side. For the longest time that she'd known Urameshi for all his ways, she never understood much of what he told her about the demonic side of life, and as such, she required him to explain almost everything. Now, as she shoveled bits of eggs into her mouth, she sat in eager excitement about the prospect of joining him in the world that she'd only heard about. Sure, she predicted that there would be some trial and tribulation, but no pain that she suffered would be too much in order to finally understand him completely. Her father noticed the familiar anticipation in her eyes as they ate together. He knew from experience that she only had that particular twinkle in her eye when something exciting was about to occur. As such, he wondered what it was. 

"Keiko," he inquired, "are you waiting for something?" She chuckled; there was no way she could explain to him that she was about to undergo a complicated ritual in the forest to become demonic. First of all, he probably wouldn't believe it, but even if he did, he most likely wouldn't take to kindly to the prospect.

"Yeah, I've got a date with Yusuke," she lied. Now, her father was one of the very few individuals in the entire city that didn't hate the mere mention of Yusuke's name. Such was rare, considering his reputation wasn't exactly unknown. But since he was a friend of hers and he had supported her family in the past, they were on good terms. This certainly helped her lie gain credibility quickly. "He's going to take me to this new movie that came out recently."

Her father smiled. "I'm glad you two are getting along," he admitted. He knew the bad rap that Yusuke got from almost every person who knew him, and frankly, he considered it rubbish. He knew good and well exactly what the problem was: the boy was a demon. He'd always seen the boy care for his daughter Keiko and he'd always known the boy to protect her with everything he could anytime she was in trouble, even going so far as to beat up an entire group of people who had cornered her in a dark alley one day. Thus, he could forsee Keiko and Yusuke getting married, possibly sooner than later.

She stood up from her seat and prepared to exit. "I gotta go dad, we're most likely going to be spending the afternoon together."

He looked at his watch. "Already? It's quite early in the morning! I wouldn't even be up if you hadn't gotten me up!"

She chuckled. "Yeah, I know dad." she gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Love you, I'll be back later."

"Have fun!" he yelled, waving as she left. It always amazed him how the boy who was a demon had such a kind heart. He had always read that demons were heartless and destructive, yet the boy was only mean to those who wronged him. Yes, if there was anyone he could trust to keep his daughter safe, it was Yusuke Urameshi.

The excitement in her mind hit a fever pitch when she arrived on the scene in the middle of the park with a small bag of the required dark blue candles and incense. He snatched the bag from her grasp, and checked it; good, she had achieved the correct items. Her heart skipped a beat when he took her hand in his, and began to explain the final details. "Now Keiko, before we do this, I absolutely have to be sure that you want to do this," he stated in no uncertain terms. "You MUST be positive of this. You cannot change your mind once the ritual has begun, or it could kill you. You have to want this. And once it has been complete, it is fully irreversible. ARE YOU _SURE_?"

She nodded silently.

He wiped a bit of sweat off his brow. "Okay then, it's time to make a demon out of you. Just make sure you realize one thing."

She looked at him with a confused look. "What one thing is that?"

"No matter what you hear me say, no matter what I do to you, it's only a dream. If you forget that, you'll go into complete psychosis and one of us will have to put you out of your misery." He saw her clear her throat and look down. "You can back out NOW, you can't back out later. Do you still want to do this?"

She fought the prospect of his words for a moment, then nodded.

He mouthed a silent "wow," and coughed. "Damn, you are far braver than I am, Keiko. If I was human, I'd have backed out a while ago." With one quick motion, he gripped her hand tighter and teleported them both to the middle of the forest. She stood back in awe at the scenery; the trees were huge, and a good sized circular area had been cleared out by the other three members of the group for the ritual. There was a large stone in the middle that had been carved into a bed by Kurama's rose whip, complete with metal rings with chains attached. She almost cringed at the sight; they were very thick chains, looking more like they were to tie down a truck bed than a human being. Lando, standing behind Hiei, noticed this and laughed.

"This person is brave," he acknowledged. The other two agreed with him. "Hello, my name is Lando and I'm one of Yusuke's allies, along with Hiei and Kurama here." She waved at them and said hello.

Hiei looked her up and down for a once-over, obviously not impressed with what he saw. "She's just an ordinary human female," he scoffed. "What about her interests you?"

"Let's not argue, let's just get this underway," Kurama said, attempting to cool down the situation caused by Hiei's statement.

"Yes, let's," Yusuke growled.

For the ritual to begin, she first had to strip down to only her bra and panties, a prospect that made her nervous. However, once she saw that none of them (except possibly Yusuke) displayed any...ill intent towards her, she agreed to do so, even if it made her nervous. Once she was virtually naked, she sat upwards on the rock, immediately shivering at the how cold it was, but after awhile she finally stretched out horizontally on the smooth surface. Kurama and Lando attached the chains' ends to her wrists to prevent any struggling (which was inevitable due to the pain this ritual caused), causing her to become unhinged slightly as they took her forearms firmly in their grasp and, stretching them as far as would still be painless, chained them to the rock's surface. They did the same to her legs, ensuring that no harm was done. Yusuke picked up the rapacious orb, approaching Hiei and Kurama with it.

"So, Kurama, what's this theory of yours that if we combine blood samples from us three, it'll improve the odds?" Yusuke's question almost insulted Kurama, for his theories were seldom wrong. Nonetheless, the fox demon could perfectly understand his ally's hesitation.

"By gaining blood samples from all three of us, it'll better allow her spirit to take our demon energy," he patiently explained to Yusuke. "Also, it'll provide for more variation in the type of demon she becomes, which will make her less of a target for demons that prey on fellow members of their kind." Having explained the final part of the requirements, Hiei took a knife from inside his shirt and tore a nasty gash in his left hand pouring about a cupful of blood onto the surface of the orb, moments later his hand would heal completely as though nothing happened. The blood mysteriously stayed in a pool atop the orb, waiting for Kurama's sample. The fox demon took Hiei's knife and cut a silghtly smaller gash in his right hand, letting a similar amount of blood fall on top of the fire demon's sample before it healed. Finally, it was Yusuke's turn to provide a sample, and he did; except when he did, the blood absorbed into the spherical orb itself, and the orb began to glow red.

"Party time," Lando joked, taking his place at the edge of the clearing, ensuring that no being would interfere with the unholy ritual of demonification. Hiei and Kurama took their positions on opposing sides of Keiko, clasping both their hands around each of hers. Kurama looked to Yusuke.

"Yusuke, Hiei and myself will begin pumping our energy into Keiko. When I say to, and not a moment sooner or later, put your left hand on her stomach, and hold the orb high above your head with your right. If we do this correctly, her soul will travel through your body and into the orb in your opposing hand."

"What'll happen then?"

Kurama looked in pity at the girl tied to the rock. He shook his head; this one was brave or foolish, he knew not which. "She'll be forced into six and a half hours of hell." Hiei nodded, indicating he was ready. "Hiei, let us begin...now." With the saying of the word "now" the two demons instantly began to push their own youki into Keiko through her hands. Kurama had far more experience at this ritual than Hiei, so the fire demon allowed him, grudgingly, to command the entire process. Had they been on equal terms, of course, the fire demon would be the one giving orders. Keiko began to squirm, slightly at first but violently after a few minutes, and Kurama could sense that their energy (which was poisonous to pure-blooded humans) was gathering, forcing her soul to the walls of her abdomen. He knew Yusuke had to touch her stomach at the moment it touched the skin wall, or else she would die from incompatibility issues with the mixing of human and demon energy. It shot upwards toward the gut cavity's wall with each passing second. At the moment before it hit, the fox demon screamed, "YUSUKE! _NOW_!"

He slapped his left hand on her stomach. All at once an enormous jolt of power shot through every inch of his frame at once, faster than light it rocketed through his right arm and smashed into the inside of the orb, threatening to launch it from his hand, but his grip held. The moment it landed inside the orb, his body, as those of Kurama and Hiei, were frozen in the positions they were in, making them unable to move. Yusuke could move but he dared not; it was too important he stay still. Both demons on her sides began to tire; her body was draining energy from them regardless of their attempts to control the flow. Painful seconds ticked by like hours with a reddish-orange dome covering the quartet. Only Lando was unaffected, as he had to keep watch. The glow of the rapacious orb's light grew at an alarming pace, causing Hiei to begin to get nervous.

"Everyone! Close your eyes or be blinded! The orb's gonna flash soon!"

In fact, the flash came sooner than they thought. Kurama and Yusuke barely had time to get their eyes shut before the single brightest light they'd ever seen shot in all directions from the orb. It was so luminous, in fact, that Yusuke could see everything that was going on despite his eyes shut tight. The energy within Keiko, a simply staggering amount of power drawn from the three demons, began to form into a pulsating mass of power within her. Kurama knew what was about to occur, so he warned the others as fast as he could.

"Brace yourself!"

"Why?" Hiei asked.

"When her soul shoots back into her body, we'll all be thrown in different directions!"

Each of the three got themselves ready to be launched as best they could. Unfortunately, the soul waited just long enough to reenter her body that it threw off their timing. Thus, they were completely unprepared for when Yusuke felt a massive jolt blast through him again, and reenter Keiko's body. Her soul landed with a sickening thud inside her abdomen cavity, like an bomb blast throwing the three demons in opposing directions, shaking Keiko so badly she almost dislocated both her arms. Yusuke seemed glad that his hardest part was over, yet now he had to endure watching her writhe in pain as her soul and the demon blood and energy reacted with each other. Screeches of pain she let out at every twist and rattle.

"Guys, I don't know if I can just sit back and watch," Yusuke admitted.

"You HAVE to, Urameshi," Hiei replied. "You know if you come too close to her you'll throw off the rhythm of the transformation."

"Besides," Kurama added. "She should be fine. Her body wasn't damaged in the catalyzing process, and that's a very good sign. It hurts to watch a loved one suffer, but just remember that she's a tough one. I can tell."

Yusuke shook his head. "I know WE'RE over the worst part. But she hasn't even hit that mark yet." Suddenly he remembered. "Um, so I light the candles and incense and spread 'em in a circle around her. What are the for, exactly?"

"Cover up the smell," Kurama answered. "Demonification rituals stink—literally. Flesh-eating and cannibalistic demons flock to the stench."

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, but...what's the importance of dark blue candles!"

Kurama's face turned into a childish grin. "I just LOVE the smell of blueberry-scented candles!"

Hiei smacked his fellow demon's hand. "Will you focus?"


	4. My inner demons first

Bloodlust

By Moonraker One

A/N: Swearing is in this chapter, be warned.

CHAPTER FOUR – "My inner demons first."

A pitch black void of empty nothingness lingered in every direction around a cold and frightened Keiko Yukimura. The only light seemed to be coming from within her, and it circled and emanated from her, a dark red, almost evil light that did not provide much solace from the all-consuming darkness. She was practically naked, garbed only in her bra and panties, which were pink with soft edges. Scared almost out of her wits at why she lay in total blank darkness, she violently whipped her head left then right, eagerly searching for another form of life, an act which ultimately proved futile. Suddenly, she both heard and felt a whoosh of air rushing past her nearly unclothed form, and it almost made her jump. Much to her horror, a pair of light footsteps approaching behind her had immediately followed it up. Fear had taken root within her as she quivered, creaking her head slowly around to peer at the figure coming up on her.

* * *

The situation outside her mind, out in the forest area where the quartet of demons painfully watched as the girl they'd begun the demonifying process on shook in pain and fear. Hiei saw Keiko shake violently, sometimes coming close to dislocating her own arms as she applied counterforce to the chains holding her against the smooth rock's surface. From all the years he'd seen, he'd never seen someone quite as brave, especially not among the ranks of the mortal women. Kurama had done this before, and her ability to remain sane thus far absolutely amazed her. Some of the people he'd put through the process of making someone into a demon did not make it this far before they either went into complete psychosis or died from thrashing about until they broke themselves apart. Only Yusuke had trouble breathing as he watched her cry in pain and writhe about.

"Guys, I just CAN'T keep watching this!" he shouted. Hiei rolled his eyes. Kurama attempted to calm him down.

"Yusuke, calm down," the thousand year-old youko told his ally.

"YOU calm down! I'm worried!"

"Yusuke, you need to realize that she is doing extraordinarily well. I've seen people shake until they broke their own back. She's going to be just fine. You lit the candles?"

Yusuke nodded. "Yeah. And I see your point; the candles really do cover up the smell of the aura. But why does the _aura_ stink?"

"Because a human and demon aura mixing does not happen easily," Hiei answered. "It takes huge amounts of power to force them to combine and to change human into demon aura. Plus, the sweet scent of the candles and incense has a soothing effect on the subject, making her dealing with inner demons easier."

Yusuke practically shot his head to the left to stare with wide eyes at Hiei. "Woah, there. What the hell do you mean 'inner demons!'"

"She must tackle the demons of her past before she can become one herself."

* * *

"_You disappoint me, Keiko,"_ the figure, cloaked by the darkness that seemed almost to tightly embrace him, uttered. The sound of his voice seemed to resonate throughout the empty space as if they were in a concert hall, although she could see nothing in any direction except the omnipresent darkness. _"I would have thought you stronger."_

Once the figure closed in, and revealed itself to be Yusuke, she looked at him with bewilderment. "What do you mean? I just wanted to understand what it meant to be a demon!" She sincerely could not understand, as she stared at his demon form, why he had an insane look on his face.

"_No, you misunderstand me,"_ he argued, his tone sharpening, causing her to almost recoil in the manner of a wounded animal. _"I consider you weak because you'll never be anything except a miserable little bitch!"_ She almost jumped backward in a combination of both anger and sorrow as he knelt to her position and took hold of her by her chin. _"You never were much to speak of, and I always hated you."_

Tears rolled down her face as she felt her proverbial heart breaking. How could someone she cared for so much, possibly say such piercing words of hatred towards her? She never had done anything bad to him. Then it struck her; she had. Her face contorted in shock as she brought it to mind. It had been a time when he was only six years old, and she was a few days away from her sixth birthday.

_A young child, standing quivering in the middle of the playground, felt cold and alone as others his age crowded around him to pelt him with rocks. He knew the reason that they were so against his mere existence; it had to do with his hair, his markings, his blood, and most of all, his very soul. He stood for the one thing that they held prejudice against. He was a demon, and they knew it from the rumors that persisted in spreading thanks to the loose lips of misunderstanding and apathetic adults. Parents of children that held hatred against a young and frightened Yusuke Urameshi held the same hatred themselves although they didn't show it as often, mainly because of his origins. To them, it was not bad enough that a twenty-nine year old woman had been impregnated by a man with a long-standing demonic series of genes amidst his otherwise human genome, but that she had been impregnated at fifteen years of age and had given birth to a full-blooded demon. None of that mattered to him as much as the pain he felt._

_He begged both verbally and in his mind, that they would quit hurtling the painful objects his way. The rocks did no physical harm to him that his demonic blood would not heal, but the psychological damage that pierced his brain did enough damage on its own. He looked at the crowd, a diverse grouping of boys and girls around his age, none older than eight, shouted horrible fates at him as they continued to hurtle whatever gravel they could accumulate in his direction. Suddenly, a young girl of his age, dark hair and a cute pink outfit, consisting of a pink skirt and a shirt which was a lighter shade of the same color, approached him. The crowd did not cease their shouting or their rock-throwing, but allowed a space just wide enough to allow her through. She, at first, looked with confusion at him, but when she saw his elongated hair (a mass of almost jet black hair stretching to his ankles and wider than his shoulders) and the markings on his arms and chest via his torn shirt, she quivered inside. He could not look at her due to the fact that doing so would subject his face to rock pelting, but he could smell her aura and he knew she did not belong amidst the group._

"_Freak!" she screamed, grabbing a rock and drawing her arm back. She prepared to nail him directly in the head, in hopes that it would at least remove him from her sight._

_It was almost like the workings of God himself._

_For the briefest of moments, the crowd let up in hopes to get more gravel to hurtle at him, which allowed him to remove his arms from their position shielding his face. An eye blink would have been longer than his reprieve from the pelting, but nonetheless he brought up his face to stare at hers, his eyes meeting with hers for ever a short instant. The very moment her gentle eyes—looking very much out of place on her mixture of anger and fear contorted facial expression—met with his pained gaze, her heart nearly skipped a beat. A million words were exchanged in the fraction of a second that he saw her eyes. He pierced straight to her heart with the eyes of his, almost as if he had looked through her. Although it was only a glance, she knew what she was doing was wrong._

_Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. Despite her seeing the utter injustice that was the rock throwing, she let hers go anyway. It did no more physical damage than any other person's, but it did twice as much psychological harm due to the fact that she'd realized beforehand that it was not good. His turning his head to the side to recover from her rock's impact did the trick—no one else tried to throw it at him. But as the crowd scattered, crying their laughter at his plight and shouting as they retreated horrible fates for him to suffer, only she stood, frozen in place it seemed, by the power that was his fleeting glance of disappointment as he walked away. She could almost hear, through the deafening silence of his demeanor as he left, his disappointment for letting his belief that she was different down._

She wiped away a tear as she sat agape in the trance-like dark room she was in. The most painful memory of all had just brought itself to the surface. She remembered walking away crying that day, looking over her shoulder every other step to see if he had left her sight yet, and praying to be punished by god for having let him down. The very next morning she made it her mission to track him down and apologize and attempt to make it up to him (although she found it very difficult to believe she could), and he'd smiled by the end of the day and considered her his new (and possibly only) best friend, but the memory of pain lingered.

She looked up at him, in her presence, and noticed that standing in her presence, next to the teenage Yusuke she knew well, was the six year old demon that she'd caused so much pain to that day in the playground. _"It's something, isn't it!"_ he shouted, bringing the little Yusuke to in front of her. _"It's really something to see those painful memories after all this time, isn't it! You will suffer for every injustice you've ever caused!"_

The little Yusuke of the past, crying as he edged out from his position behind the teenage Yusuke, approached Keiko and his face instantly contorted in the angriest look imaginable. He held up his hand and took her hard by the neck. _"YOU!"_ he screeched, tightening his grip on her neck. _"You saw that I'd had enough! You had to throw a rock at me anyway, didn't you! I'm going to make you suffer, you bitch!"_

Then, with tears in her eyes and her vision blurring from the young Yusuke's tight grip on her neck, she found the air to speak. The teenage Yusuke smiled evilly as he prepared to let the younger him tear her apart once she begged for her life. It was the next words that baffled him.

"Go ahead," she weakly whispered. "I don't deserve to live."

* * *

The real Yusuke, outside the vision in the real world, watching her struggling against the chains holding her to the rock, saw the vision of the past that she was experiencing in her trance-like state, and saw in her heart her obvious choice of action. His breathing could have stopped that moment. "NO, KEIKO!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, struggling against Hiei and Kurama holding him back. "IT'S JUST A VISION! DON'T THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY FOR SOMETHING THAT LONG AGO, DAMMIT!"

* * *

Both visions, the teenage Yusuke and the younger him, looked at each other in confusion.

"_Did…I hear you correctly?"_ the teenage Yusuke said.

"_You…you would die… allow me to kill you…just to atone for what went down that day!"_ the younger one finished.

"Anything to cleanse my sins," she cried.

Grinning wickedly, both visions of Yusuke prepared for the next course of action. Teenage Yusuke held her head still as the younger him tightened his grip on her neck and drew back his fist in preparation for the final blow. She slammed her eyes shut as she saw him throw his fist.

A whole minute of silence followed.

It was then that she realized that she was not only still alive, but that no longer was someone holding her head or her neck. When her eyes opened, she saw her surroundings had drastically changed. The dark room she was in had become a cave, lit by torches attached to the wall. Three shadowed figures stood in a triangular formation at opposing ends of the room. Confused, she looked around and saw…that each of the three was a different variant of her.

"_Welcome to your inner soul chamber,"_ the first Majin Keiko began.

"_It is here that the final act of demonification will commence,"_ the second one added.

"_One of us will become you. You must take your pick," _the third one finished.

"Huh? I have to pick which of you for my demon form?"

The first demon version of Keiko stepped forward. _"Regardless of your pick, you will still retain your outer human appearance for a ruse. We are what you will look like when no spell is concealing us."_ The first one plainly had Hiei's influence. She looked somewhat intriguing, with the same color and style hair as regular Keiko but with the fire apparition's white spot at the front, as well as his green skin and countless jagan's all across her body. Although this version of demon Keiko looked enticing, the multiple eye thing just turned her off to it. The second one took notice and stepped into the light.

The second demon version of Keiko was a beautiful youko female, with the same visible appearance of normal human Keiko but with gray hair and fox ears and tail. She shimmered in the dim light as she showed off her body. Keiko imagined herself looking this way around Yusuke, but did not like the thought of having a tail. It kind of seemed bulky and a useless add-on. This caused the third and final one to appear. Keiko expected this demon version of herself to look like her with Yusuke's hair and markings.

Instead, it was a combination of all three. Some traits of Jaganshi Hiei, some of Youko Kurama, and some of Yusuke Urameshi, even, were present. The long flowing hair of Yusuke, as well as his arm and upper chest markings were visible, the fox ears of Youko Kurama the same dark color as the hair (but minus the tail), and the Jagan of Hiei. She looked at the third one with delight, as it provided beauty through variety.

"You," she said, putting her hand approvingly on the third version's shoulder.

"_Now, the transformation begins,"_ they all said, disappearing. Keiko found herself slammed back to consciousness in her own body, as it became surrounded by demonic energy. Pain rushed in like a flood, causing her to convulse harder.

"KEIKO!" Yusuke screamed. He attempted to break free of Hiei and Kurama's grip but they held firm.

"This is it, Yusuke," Kurama explained. "Interfere now and you could kill her."


	5. It's a learning experience

Bloodlust

by Moonraker One

A/N: This chapter has taken me very long to get to as I had a lot going on. I figured I'd upload this now instead of making you wait any longer. The downside to giving you something to read now is that this chapter is short.

CHAPTER FIVE - "It's a learning experience."

Yusukecould not stand the pain of watching his best friend endure her pain any longer. She had never experienced such a trying situation in her life; how long, he wondered, could he passively stand aside and watch her scream and writhe in pain? The chains held firm as her energies swirled about, mixing with each other to attain their final position and form within her soul, and she knew it was now that she would come into her final form. Even so, it felt as though invisible hands were tearing apart her insides, and that electricity was flowing through her the entire time. She worried not about the pain, but rather, what her parents would do when they found out—for they inevitably would—about her becoming a demon. After a few minutes of the worst sort of agony she had ever endured, she could actually feel her flesh beginning to change; the twisting of the cells into demonic and the energy forcing itself upon her skin made her feel as though she'd been lit ablaze. Her hair began to lengthen to about Yusuke'slength, and it was the only aspect of her that did not hurt.

"KEIKO!" Yusuke screamed; Hiei and Kurama had a hell of a time trying to hold their ally back as his level of power greatly exceeded theirs, and to hold him back was equivalent to a man trying to hold a door shut with a jet plane pulling in the opposing direction. "Leggo of me!" Regardless of his yellings, his friends knew if they did not prevent him from getting close to Keiko during the procedure, she was doomed to die.

"YUSUKE!" Kurama shouted, trying his best to calm down his struggling friend. "If you DON'T calm down, she'll die!"

"Yeah," Hiei added, "if you get close to her, your energy countermixing with hers will cause her to die from within!"

Finally, after a few minutes of attempting to break free of his friends' grasp, he realized that they knew better than him the proper course of action. It pained him to watch his best friend suffer, but she had asked for this and as such he would do best to stay out of her experience and let her naturally transform. It was a bit of a blurred image, but through the thick wall of aura surrounding her, he could actually see her demonic form taking its final shape. His chest and arm markings were present on her, as well as his huge bundle of hair, which were symbolic of his blood and energy. She had, on her forehead, Hiei's jagan eye, which made the fire apparition in question slightly jealous; he had to endure an excruciatingly painful procedure—vastly more painful than Keiko's demonification—yet she received it with a fraction of what he had to endure. Kurama's fox ears were at the top of Keiko's head, symbolic of the youko's blood and energy, although they were as black as Yusuke's hair, instead of gray like on the youko. All in all, each of the demons were, in a way, surprised, as they all knew that the demon form taking shape on her was of her own choosing, and although it provided wondrous variety, each demon figured a Yusuke-esque form was what she would pick.

Just as the aura and the blood surging through Keiko was aligning itself into its final position, the last bit of transformation took place, causing one final surge of pain to fly through the girl at lightning speed. This caused her to jerk her arms upward against the thick chains holding her to the rock, very nearly breaking both her arms. Afterward, the aura had finally settled down and the transformation complete, which allowed her to slump back down to a flat-out horizontal position where she could relax. Yusuke was the first to notice that the sun was directly overhead as she came to the end of the process. _Holy crap!_ He thought. _Is it noon already? Six hours have passed?_

"Yusuke..." her voice faltered slightly as she blinked her new eyes. "Everything's so bright..."

"Keiko!" he shouted, preparing to run, but Hiei stopped him.

With an impressed nod, he informed them all, "Keiko, you're finished with your demonification ritual. I will say this: you did damn good for a human girl. I've never seen someone as brave as you."

Keiko interrupted him with, "But, everything's so bright, and...it seems like I'm experiencing all my senses a lot..." she struggled for a word, "...higher.. or something."

"That's perfectly natural," Kurama entered the conversation with. "Demons have heightened senses compared with humans. Also, can you feel twinges nearby?" he waited for her to reply with a yes, "Yes, that's our aura signatures. Demons have far higher sixth senses than humans do. You'll get used to them in time."

"Yusuke," she uttered, as he came running up to her. "Yusuke?"

"I'm here, Keiko, what is it?" he answered instantly, worried by her tone.

"Are you wearing that scented anti-perspirant?"

He raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Yes, why?"

"It stinks."

Kurama belted out a laugh as a reflex, then tried his best to conceal his amusement after one of Yusuke's death glances. Even Hiei began to chuckle as he had noticed it too; their friend's anti-perspirant did have a bad odor to it. Inevitably, the young demon gave in and began to laugh as well, as soon as he made a mental note to change brands. One by one, the bands holding Keiko to the rock were removed, and the young demoness was allowed to dress herself in private before anything else was done. Her demon form was out in the open as she had yet to learn the technique of disguising it with her old human form, and almost all of the demons were amazed with her level of power. All except Yusuke, as he knew that if she endured the sheer level of pain that she had to, something big was waiting at the end.

_My god!_ Kurama thought to himself as he analyzed the ki signature of Ms. Yukimura, because he was not expecting the end result that was displayed. She's already three-fourths as strong as Hiei and myself? With only a few weeks' training, she'd be at the same level as the fox demon and the fire apparition. Such was unheard of for a human female becoming a demon. Hiei, at that moment, shared nearly the exact same thought, except his concern was her usefulness to the group now that she was very close to his power level; where she was at, she'd make a fine addition to the team and could eventually become quite a powerful being.

"Alright, then," Yusuke announced, taking her by the arm. "before we do anything else, we have to teach you how to control your demon and human-looking forms."

Keiko nodded; she was ready.


	6. So, this is it?

Bloodlust

By Moonraker One

A/N: My shortest chapter to date. Sorry 'bout that, I just want to take a week or so break from this story to reassess where I want to go with it, and I promise that I will then continue it.

CHAPTER SIX – "So, this is it?"

Yusuke took up a cross-legged seated position on the ground, focusing his ki. In compliance, all the other demons in their presence except for Lando did the same. The level of energy flowing through the area was like a drug addict's attraction to any demon that was in the area. Rather than repel, demons flocked to other powerful demonic aura signatures. So, in Yusuke's mind, it was imperative that Keiko be taught how to properly disguise her power within a human form. "Keiko," he explained, "the key to hiding your demon form is disproportionately simple compared with bringing it out. The only thing you really have to do to suppress your demonic power is to focus your energy and cover yourself with it, all the time thinking of what your human form should look like. You can even materialize clothes." Keiko was amazed by his use of a word as large as "disproportionately."

Keiko felt a golden stream of warm light passing through her entire form. It had somewhat a cold, rough edge to it, but she assumed that was due to her demon spirit; the inside of it was warm. She could not believe what it felt like to be able to sense and manipulate her own ki. She focused her mind, and she found that mentally, she could alter the very flow of energy through her body. Such euphoria she had seldom experienced as the first redirecting of her own life power. "Wow!" she uttered. "This…this is what _ki is_? Cool!"

Hiei took over the discussion. "First, make a mental image of how you should look as a human, including the clothes you want to wear," he offered. "Do you have the image?"

She nodded.

"Okay then. Now, grab a section of your ki as it is flowing through your body, and pull it over your body like a sheet. Can you do that?"

She closed her eyes and sectioned off a part of her flow of ki, and yanked it out of her body. Almost too fast, in fact, she did. Yusuke put his hand on her left shoulder to calm her down. "If you screw it up, Keiko," he calmly stated, "you could injure yourself. Now take the ki and cover yourself completely, and tightly. Don't let any of it slack off and loosen up, as it'll screw up the transformation." His voice helped her calm down. Once he sensed her energy flowing more readily and smoothly, he smiled. "You're a fast learner, Keiko."

The energy she removed from her body spilled over her entire form like spilt molasses, only becoming visible once it covered her completely. Upon enveloping her, the ki shone with a bright red glow, and she could feel underneath it her physical structure changing once again, except this time, it was only a superficial change. Hiei and Kurama could all feel a calming in the air once she changed back to her human form. Her outfit was what it had been before she disrobed and began the demonification procedure, and her look was entirely human. They could still feel a demonic aura about her, it was just severely dampened. Yusuke was pleased with her quick learning capability; soon, she would learn how to make the morphing process invisible.

"That was _excellent_, Keiko!"

She smiled, feeling surer of herself after receiving positive reassurance from him. "I did good, Yusuke?" To her question, he nodded.

"I'm glad that you're a fast learner, Keiko," he explained, "because that'll make it better for you in the future. From now on, though, you'll have to learn how to fight." One thing he would need was a gym with a large open area with a consistent temperature of seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit, in order to properly give her the training she would require. Demonic aura fluctuated in a wave-like pattern with the temperature of the environment, and a constant climate enabled the situation to be more adequately controlled and the unwanted minds from sensing their location. Like a burst of inspiration it hit him; he had a few strings he could pull, and he'd be given access to one of the best air-conditioned workout areas in the city. It was one of the perks of being a powerful demon; when you spoke, people listened without interrupting. "And Keiko," he exclaimed, "I can give you the training you need."

From that point forward, every time Keiko found any free time to herself she spent in the forest with Yusuke, learning the deeper aspects of reiki and any other techniques relevant to being a demon in the modern world. With time, she would grow to be nearly as powerful as Hiei and her skill at fighting would grow immensely. It all seemed to go perfectly according to plan until a certain day in October.


End file.
